The Fake Sound of Progress
by eu5jr7
Summary: Sora returns to take Kairi and Riku back to Hollow Bastion with him, but he doesn't know what happened while he was gone... RXK
1. Chapter 1

Ok, that's it. I got bored of searching, so I'm taking this into my own hand because there are virtually NO KxR stories out there. I hope this persuades some other people to write some as well. (Frankly I prefer reading over writing.) Hmm, now that I think about it...if there are no fics...that must mean a lot of haters heh heh...please don't flame.

Back to business. This takes place after KH2 (There may be slight spoilers.)

Disclaimer: Come on now. If I owned these people I wouldn't spend my time writing about them. I own nothin'.

* * *

It had been two days ago that Sora had left the island...again. Kairi had been relaxing on the docks with Selphie after their long and tiresome journey. She was so glad to finally have Riku and Sora home. For a year she had waited for her best friends to return safely, and now that they had, nothing could go wrong.

The girls' conversation was interrupted by an odd clanging noise.

"What is that?" Selphie asked, annoyed.

"I dunno." Kairi scooted closer to the edge of the dock and peered down. A small glass bottle similar to the one she had sent to sea herself had washed up on shore and the waves were gently connecting it to one of the supports on the dock.

She reached down to pick up the bottle and stared at it. Kairi peered inside through the clear glass and saw a rolled up piece of paper...with the King's seal on it. She gasped and hastily stood up and took off, leaving a very confused Selphie.

"Kairi! Where are you going?"

* * *

"Nothing's changed has it?" Riku mumbled as soon as Sora had joined him.

"Nope. And nothing ever will. Say...what do you think it was?"

Riku looked away from the sunset and at his friend.

"The door to the light, I mean."

Riku smirked and pulled away from the tree he was resting on. Normally he wasn't such a mushy sap, anyone could tell you that, but since he was in a particularly good mood...

"This." he poked at Sora, motioning to his heart.

"This?" Sora repeated.

Riku nodded and caught a familiar flash of pink out of the corner of his eye.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi came running over and stopped in front of them, taking a moment to breathe before she continued.

Sora let out a gasp when she held out the bottle, "From the King!" he grabbed it from her hand, yanked off the cork and pulled the paper out from inside. Kairi and Riku each looked over his shoulders in anticipation as he unrolled it.

Sora had left the next day.

* * *

Riku sat on the shore of the island. The sun was beginning to set again. He sighed. No one knew how long Sora would be gone. Riku wasn't worried though. Everything had been taking care of except for a few, very tiny loose ends. He knew his friend wasn't in any situation he couldn't handle.

Riku then found himself wondering if he could handle anything Sora could. They had both claimed to be jealous of one another right? There had to be a reason. He figured they each had their strengths. Sora was accustomed to teamwork. Riku knew if he had wandered the worlds alone like he did that he would have been greatly slowed down. Physically and emotionally. Riku on the other hand was more independent. Sure he had done everything he could to help Sora and Kairi, but he preferred to do it alone.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when the tide came in and soaked through his shoes.

"Ah!" he yelped in surprise and scrambled to his feet. A laugh he knew all too well followed from behind him.

"You thinking too much again Riku? You didn't even hear me coming." Kairi teased and approached him.

He didn't answer at first, just stared into the sun. She didn't press him either. Kairi knew he always answered her eventually.

"...Just thinking about everything. You know?" he spoke, looking down at her. Way down. Over the past year and a half Riku had grown considerably taller than the rest of his friends. Sure he was a year older, but anyone who saw him walking around could easily mistake him for someone two or three years older than he really was.

Kairi had taken the most notice of this when she had first met up with him again. After all, no one knew her best friends like she did. And after a year of being separated, the differences she saw in both of them were striking - especially in Riku. Not only had he gotten taller, and his hair longer, but his face was no longer boyish and young looking. He had really become quite handsome, not that he wasn't cute before. Then there was the rest of his body. _'He filled out a little...too nicely...'_ she had decided. Kairi knew best friends weren't just for gawking over.

Sora on the other hand, was still the same old Sora everyone knew and loved. A bit taller, sounded and looked a bit older, but nothing drastic._ '...don't ever change.'_ She had recalled saying to him. Well he did a good job. But most importantly, all of them knew that through their rough journey, they had each grown up a lot. Riku had always been the mature one of the group. Kairi was surprised to find out that somehow he become even more smart, mature and "wise". She and Sora had changed in that way as well. Their once goofy and juvenile behavior had been almost completely replaced, for the better. But that didn't stop it from resurfacing every once and a while at the right times.

"Are you worried about Sora." she asked.

"Nah. He can handle himself. I don't think he was called for anything to dangerous. Besides, if he was, I'm sure King Mickey would have put it in a bit more detail if it was serious."

"Yeah, you're right." she agreed and faced the sunset with him.

"Has everyone else left already?" Riku questioned.

"Uh huh. They left and I came to get you."

"Thanks."

"Not a big deal. Let's head home." she said, giving his wrist a little tap before turning and heading for the docks.

Riku watched her for a second before beginning to follow. After he assumed that he was never coming home and he forced himself to tell Sora to take care of Kairi, he thought it would be easy to let it go. Not hope for anything from her, and not be disappointed when something did happen between her and Sora. Easier said than done. Well, up until now it had been sufficiently easier. Without having to see or talk to Kairi and focusing on helping Sora, Riku pushed all his feelings to the back of his mind. But now that he was back it was getting harder again.

He watched her walk a few steps ahead of him. It was entirely possible that she had gotten even more gorgeous over the past year. She had also filled out too. It was hard to think of her as just his fun loving best friend. But Riku knew as long as Sora was around, he had no chance. And he wanted Sora around.

"Did you not bring a boat?" Riku questioned, looking to Kairi.

"I came with Selphie."

"Oh. Then hop on in mine." he said, offering his hand to her after he had already climbed in.

She took it and carefully made her way into the small boat and sat down at the back, facing Riku who was seated backwards, facing her at the front.

"Unhook one of the paddles and I'll help." she told him.

"No, its fine, I'll row. I don't mind, just relax." he said, flashing her a grin.

Kairi gave him a small smile and tucked her hair behind her ear, "Thanks Riku."

"Are you coming out tomorrow?" he asked.

She shot him a glance like he should know better to ask that, "Well of course. It is the start of the summer after all. I can't stay inside my house for more than an hour except to sleep. You know that."

He chuckled, "Yeah I know. But, it might not be much of a summer without Sora here."

Kairi frowned, "Hmm, you're right. But then again, look what happened last summer. You never know what might happen right?"

"Right."

* * *

After safely making it back home, Riku hopped out of the boat and tied it to the dock, then leant his hand to Kairi again.

"It's dark. I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to."

"Yeah, but I want to." he smirked. "Unless you really wanna get rid of me again?"

"Shut up, that's not funny." she scolded him.

"So," Riku started, as they headed off the dock and into town, "what all have you been up to this past year? None of us have really gotten a chance to talk about it that much."

"Mmm you know, the usual. Mostly school I suppose. I was always so, I dunno, sad I guess, without you guys here."

Riku looked at her thoughtfully, "Are you still sad now? I mean...cause Sora's not here."

Kairi thought for a moment.

"No. Not really. I guess because I know he'll be back for sure. And, well, you're here still."

"That's good." he commented.

The two continued to talk and discuss all the things they never got chances to. Riku had decided to stay away from the topic of when he was "sided" with Maleficent. It really wasn't something he wanted to talk about right at the moment. She didn't really know much about the subject. Perhaps another time, he decided.

"Oh, look. We're here already." Kairi stopped walking when they reached the outside of her house.

"So we are..." Riku mused as he followed her up the steps. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then I guess."

"Stay for a little while." Kairi suggested. "I like talking with you, and besides," she laughed. "My mom hasn't seen you in ages. She'll be happy to see you, and then you know, probably make you food like she always does."

Riku grinned, "Ah yes, I love your mom's food. And god knows how long it's been since we've slept together."

"Riku!" she yelled in outrage and punched him in the arm. "That's disgusting!"

He laughed out loud, "I was kidding, relax."

"Kairi? Is that you out there?"

The two teens looked toward the open window where Kairi's mom was calling out.

"Yeah, it's me mom."

"Is that Riku? You bring him in here right now!"

Riku grinned and leaned forward so his face was close to Kairi's ear, "What did I tell ya?" he taunted.

"Eww! Shut up!" she yelled again, opening the door to let them in.

"Kairi did you just get back? You know I want you back on the mainland before its dark, not when it's dark." her mother said.

Kairi rolled her eyes and kicked off her shoes, "Yeah yeah, I know sorry."

"And you, young man," Riku looked up from taking off his own shoes. "What'd I do?" he whined.

"Haven't been around that's what." Kairi's mom complained, giving him a playful slap upside the head.

"Yeah, well...I had to go away for a while..."

"You've gotten nice and tall too. I can barely reach up there to hit you anymore."

"I suppose that's a good thing for me then."

"Yeah, so, I'm assuming neither of you had any supper. Why don't you go downstairs while I make you some."

"Do you think you should tell your mom you're here?" Kairi wondered as they seated themselves on the couch near the fireplace.

Riku shrugged, "Nah, she doesn't worry about me like that."

They sat in silence for a bit. Kairi was deciding on whether she wanted to voice her question or not. She really did want to know more about it, but she was afraid of something bad.

"...Riku?"

"Yeah."

"You found me when I got my heart taken from me right?"

Uh oh...where was she going with this?

"...Yeah."

She looked at him seriously, "What happened? To both of us?"

Riku cleared his throat awkwardly. How to put all this? "Nothing bad happened to you. You weren't harmed. I was there to make sure of all that. It was found out that you were a princess, and your heart was restored. That's all that matters right?"

"But I was held captive by Maleficent right? So you were there too? What about you? Why were you there?"

He bit his lip and looked away, "Uhh...I think that might be a story for another time..."

Kairi folded her hands in her lap, "But...Riku..."

"Look," he grumbled, "let's just say I didn't have as much fun as Sora okay? We'll leave it at that for now."

She nodded wordlessly and it was back to silence again.

"..Umm...Riku...?" Kairi spoke nervously and quietly, as if he might bite her head off if she said the wrong thing.

"What?"

She found the courage to look at him again, "Whatever happened, or whatever you did; I don't care. I want you to know that you can trust me if you do ever wanna tell me. Cause I would like to know what happened - the good and the bad. And you were right, I was safe. We were safe, so that's all that mattered. Nothing else matters."

His eyes softened and he gave her a small smile, "Sure, Kairi. Thanks. But you're still gonna have to wait."

She grinned pleasantly at him.

"I think I'll be able to wait."

* * *

So yeah, there you have it; the first chapter. I hope at least some people like it enough for me to continue. So please, R&R! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any other junk.

Dinner for Kairi and Riku went by fast enough before they headed outside in the backyard.

"Oh man, I missed this island weather." Riku commented, closing his eyes and taking in the mild breeze.

"I can imagine."

"Let's head up on the roof." he suggested.

Kairi thought for a moment, "I dunno, my mom doesn't like me up there...ah fine!" she gave in and hoisted herself up onto the nearest window sill and continued to make her way up the building with Riku following not far behind.

"You better not be peeking down there!" she called down to him.

He shook his head and sighed, "Yeah, I'm totally staring right up your skirt!"

"Get outta here!"

"Relax, I'm kidding."

"You better be." she warned.

"It's too dark out here anyway."

Kairi ignored him and pulled herself up onto the top of the roof, scrambling near the center of it and sitting down. She giggled when Riku let out an, "Oof!" noise as his stomach rubbed roughly against the side of the roof.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine." he said, sitting down next to her, his shoes making odd scraping noises on the shingles as he got comfy.

The mild breeze was even stronger higher up. They could only see with the help of the bright moon in the clear sky. Neither of them talked, the only sounds were the gentle waves not far in the distance and the sound of crickets chirping.

"Hmm, I'm not to sure what to say..." Kairi admitted, looking to Riku's serene and content face as he relaxed, "I mean...everything going back to normal after all of this is kinda weird."

"I know what you mean, but, that doesn't mean we have to change the way we live now."

"Yeah, I kind of feel like I have to though..." she said, crinkling her nose with discomfort.

"What do you mean?" he asked, throwing his arms over his head and laying down.

"I'm not quite sure. Maybe because everything isn't normal yet."

"You mean because of Sora still being gone?"

"Yeah."

"Well..." Riku started, gazing intently into the sky, "What do you feel you have to do that is different that involves him?"

Kairi buried her face in her hands and grumbled, "I don't know. I don't even know if I'm supposed to do anything. Maybe I'm just being stupid." she laughed.

"Do you want to do something?"

"Quit asking me questions!" she whined and poked him in the stomach.

"Ah! Okay, okay."

It was silent again after that, but it wasn't long before Kairi joined Riku and laid down on the roof as they both gazed at the stars.

Riku tilted his head over and glanced at her. She was thinking too much. Oh well, thinking or not, either way she looked beautiful in the moonlight.

He turned his head back the other way when he realized he was staring. He had told himself not to do that. She wasn't for him.

Then she dropped a bombshell.

"Riku?"

"Uh huh?"

"...Does Sora like me?"

A year and a half in the depths of darkness and fighting for his life hadn't numbed or stopped his body from speaking or moving. This did.

Didn't she know? Was she really going to make him say it? Wait...if he didn't tell her...then would anything even happen between her and Sora? But then again...if she doesn't know that Sora likes her, then there's still the possibility that Kairi could like him! But then...that wasn't fair to Sora was it? Having Kairi like himself and having a relationship. No; it was fair! Sora was willing to have something with her and disregard his feelings so why couldn't he return that action?

_'All she asked you was if Sora liked her, not a hard question.'_ his mind told him.

"Riku? Did you hear me?"

Riku bit his lip and let out a deep sigh before answering, "...Yeah...I think he does. ...Did you not know that?"

He watched with curiosity at how she would react.

Kairi shrugged, "I kind of had an idea."

Ah ha...now to ask her his own question.

"Well," he cleared his throat, "do you like him?"

"I dunno." she answered with genuine confusion littering her voice.

"I mean the whole thing with our hearts, and being heartless and Roxas and Namine...and there's always that little picture in the secret place of us giving each other the paupu fruit. I wasn't sure of his intentions with that one." she finished, giggling.

Riku cringed, ah, yes, there were all those things.

"Why did you draw the picture then? I mean, if you're not sure?"

"C'mon Riku, the paupu means that if two people share it, their destinies are intertwined. That doesn't mean they have to be in love. I mean if you asked me if I'd want Sora to still be my friend in like, twenty years then of course I'd say yes. Why wouldn't I want him in my "destiny" somewhere? I'd do the same for you."

She had a good point. A good comforting point.

Riku looked at her; she was already looking at him.

"Is this what you meant by you thought you needed to do something, or change something?" he asked curiously.

"I think so. But, I really have no idea what to do."

"You could try giving him a chance." Riku blurted out before he could hold his tongue.

_'Stupid stupid stupid! Why would you say that?'_

_'Cause you were thinking of yourself, not Sora. That's why.'_

"Really?" she said skeptically, as if she never expected him to say anything like that.

"Um, well, I dunno. I think I'd want you to give me a chance."

Kairi looked at him with surprise. It was then that Riku realized how that must have sounded.

"I...I meant...if I were him..." he trailed off and looked away.

"Oh...I see." she said quietly and stared back up at the stars. "I think I'd rather sort a lot of things out first before I do anything."

'That's good." he said dully. "It's getting late. I should go."

Riku sat up and placed a hand on his knee for support before attempting to stand before Kairi sat up quickly and put a hand on his arm.

"Stay."

"What?"

"C'mon, like we used to do."

"With Sora."

She shrugged, "I'm sure he's having more fun than we are anyways. Please?" she begged, grabbing onto his hand.

Riku was near shocked. He had always thought Kairi was more comfortable around Sora than around him and that she saw him as a better friend. Maybe that wasn't true.

"Riku, I haven't slept in the tree house since you guys were last here. I miss it!"

He smiled warmly, "Alright, I'll stay."

Standing up and wrapping her arms around him, Kairi leaned in and hugged him, "Thanks, Riku."

"...Not a problem." he said, returning the hug - which surprisingly, wasn't quick, or awkward.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Kairi's mother asked when she saw her trot through the house with a massive pile of blankets in her arms.

"Riku's staying over." she said simply, not stopping.

"...Are you staying in the house?" her mother questioned with a little bit of a hint in her voice.

"Nope."

"Oh."

"Night mom."

"...Night."

"We can just stay in the house if she wants us too." Riku suggested when Kairi walked out the patio door.

"Nah. It's not like we haven't slept out here before. Not like its unsafe or anything."

He chuckled and followed her toward their tree house.

"I don't think that's what she's worried about."

Kairi turned to him after she heaved the blankets up inside the fort. "What do you mean...?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, we've never had a sleepover without Sora. She's probably wondering where he is, or why we'd choose to have one _alone_."

"...Ohhhh!..." she exclaimed with realization and felt her cheeks burn. "Well it's not like we're choosing to have it alone."

"Yeah," he smirked, "but she doesn't know that."

"True." Kairi agreed, climbing up the ladder.

Riku was about to follow when he realized the tree house wasn't very high, so he bent his knees and gave himself a good push that sent him flying up high enough into the air. He landed inside before Kairi.

_'At least I can still do that.'_

"Now how the hell did you do that?"

"When you fight for your life everyday, you learn a few things I guess." he confessed, picking up the blankets at spreading them out on the floor while Kairi completed her journey up the ladder.

Hearing him talk like that reminded her once again that she really had no idea what he had been through while they were separated.

"Kairi? What's wrong?" Riku pried when he noticed the unsettling look that had appeared on her face.

"It's just that, you brought up about you being alone, and in the darkness and I still have no idea what happened." she told him, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.

Riku sighed and sat down in front of her, crossing his legs so they were face to face.

"Kairi, look." he said seriously, "I don't have the problem of telling you what happened, it's the explaining I'm going to have to do about a question that I know for a fact you're going to ask."

She continued to look at him with the same disappointed expression on her face. Seeing her like that had started to make his face drop as well, "and... I'm really not ready to answer it yet."

"But, I am going to get to know eventually...right?" she said hopefully.

Riku looked to the side and rubbed his arm awkwardly, "It really depends...I'm not sure."

"Well what if I promise not to ask any questions and just listen?"

Riku looked up and thought for a moment. It could possibly work.

"That...isn't a bad idea. But I'm still not sure."

"I'll settle for that then." she said.

"Good." he smiled.

Kairi stood up and flung her bangs out of her eyes, "Well, I'll be right back. I need to go put some pajamas on."

"Sure thing."

* * *

When Kairi left, Riku took the time to arrange his pillows and kick off his shoes. He jumped into his sleeping bag and threw off his vests and tossed them into the corner. Riku then decided to get comfy so he flopped down on his stomach and tucked his arms under his pillow.

Not too long after, he heard Kairi coming back up the ladder. He felt his eyes widened when she came into view.

Since when did she wear _that _as pajamas?

Last Riku had checked, Kairi had always come to sleepovers dressed in flannel pants and an oversized t-shirt; not a spaghetti strap top that looks just a tiny bit too small or a pair of extremely short sleeping...shorts? If they could even be called that.

Luckily she was too busy setting up her pillows and putting her things in the corner to notice him staring at her legs.

Riku kicked mentally kicked himself and turned his face away.

"Oh!" she spoke up.

He was forced to turn back around.

"You didn't say anything when I came in, I thought you were sleeping." she said.

"Nope."

Kairi smiled at him and huddled up in her own sleeping bag, "Good cause I wanna talk some more." she said, rolling on her side to face him.

"I hope it better be about fun things this time." Riku told her as he pushed himself off of his stomach and turned to mirror her position.

"Don't worry, we can talk about whatever...you want..." she trailed off when she realized that he wasn't wearing any shirt.

She could swear a line of drool formed at the edge of her mouth and quickly took her eyes away. Unfortunately her staring didn't go unnoticed.

Riku gave her a very questionable look and grinned at her.

"W-what?" she blushed.

He shrugged, "Nothin'." he said with satisfaction.

"Well alright then." Kairi answered, gaining back her composure and rolling onto her back so she couldn't see him.

"So what do you think we're gonna be doing this summer. It's going to be weird..." Riku asked.

"I can honestly say that I don't have a clue." she answered with a laugh.

"Well when Sora gets back and tells us about all the fun he had roaming the now peaceful worlds...we'll just tell him we both won the lottery or something, and that he gets no money."

Kairi laughed, "Too bad we'll have nothing to show for it."

Riku shrugged, "That's easy, we just say we spent it all on booze and gambling."

"Sounds good."

They continued to talk for a few more hours, each catching up on what the other had missed and wondering how all three of them had stood being separated for so long.

* * *

Hmmm two reviews eh? Tough crowd I see :P Oh well, I'm enjoying writing this, and if you do read it and like it, please please please review so I can know!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't we all wish we owned Kingdom Hearts? I know I do! But, unfortunately, I don't. Now on with it!

* * *

"Hey Riku!" Tidus called from upon the mini island where he had been practicing. 

Riku raised a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as his vision spanned the length of their small island.

"What?"

"Come and spar with me!"

The two continued to yell.

Selphie and Kairi burst into a fit of giggles when they kept at it. "Why don't you just go over there and talk to him Riku?" she pointed out.

He looked down on the dock to where she and Selphie were sitting, "And not yell all the way across the island? Now Kairi, where is the fun in that?"

"You'll find fun knowing that you have some common sense in you. How bout' that?" she offered, still in between laughs.

"Ah, fair enough." Riku agreed and hopped off the home made wooden terrace.

He walked past the boats and by the docks and as he passed the girls he made sure to ruffle Kairi's hair for being smart with him.

"Heeeyyyy!" she complained, trying to get it back into place.

Riku looked back at her while continuing to walk as she gave him a pouty look. He merely smiled and laughed before facing forward again.

"So, how bout' it? We haven't had a good rumble in a while eh?" Tidus pried when Riku reached him.

Riku crossed his arms and looked down skeptically.

"C'mon, Riku, I'll get to fight you with my shiny new sword too!" he boasted pulling out an elegant, ocean blue sword.

"Where'd you get that?" Riku questioned.

"Wakka had it made for me for my birthday. All I got him for his present was a card and some money."

"It's nice."

"Yeah...soooo?"

"Ah, I don't think so. Not really in the mood for it much anymore." Riku admitted.

"Aww...Hey! It's okay if you're outta practice or something."

He laughed. It was really the complete opposite. After travelling through endless darkness and fighting every day for his life, Riku was anything but out of practice. Truth be told, in situations like this he was afraid of what he might accidentally do. Hurting his friends was the last thing on his list.

"You're hopeful Tidus, but sorry. Go have a round with Wakka, he's always up for it." he suggested.

"Ah fine." Tidus sighed with defeat. "But sometime this summer, you'll be at my mercy!"

"Sure thing, pal." Riku chuckled and waved him off.

When Tidus had jogged off the mini island, Riku propped his hands on the edge of the crooked tree and pulled himself up.

Feeling the sea air hit his face and hearing the faint sound of the waves made him wonder why he ever wanted to leave here in the first place.

Great friends, peaceful scenery, loving yet lenient parents, their own island. All that trouble of wanting to leave, and yet, when it was all over...they just wanted to go back.

But then, if they had never left, none of them would have grown up in the way that they had. He would have been the same kid silently bragging about everything he did and rivaling Sora in every way possible...they both knew why. Riku wasn't that person anymore. Sure, he still looked out for the others and he still was good at everything - although he never showed it off. And he still knew that as soon as he heard Kairi question a relationship with Sora his heart had skipped a beat. But he was different, and it was better.

His trained ears picked up a sound behind him. Sand crunching underneath feet. A girl's feet from the sound of it. Riku could tell by the way she moved how she carried herself. He grinning slightly and spoke up before turning around, "Hope I didn't mess up your hair too bad."

"How'd you know it was me?" she questioned playfully.

Riku turned all the way around to see Kairi approaching him slowly, hands behind her back. "I'm psychic."

She nodded in a fake convincing manner, "Ahh I see..then without looking...what color are my eyes?"

He scoffed at the stupid question, "They're blue."

"Laugh all you want, Mr. Psychic." she taunted, hopping on the tree to sit beside him, "A lot of guys actually don't know that about their friends, or girlfriends or whatever. Now... how many bracelets am I wear-"

"Three."

"What color are-"

"Blue white and black."

Kairi grumbled and thought for a second, then propped her head up in triumph, "What color are my socks."

Riku chuckled again, "You're not even wearing any."

"Okay, do you just sit and stare at me all day or something?" she teased while laughing.

"Mayyybe." _'Well not _all_ day...' _he thought to himself._  
_

"Well alright then, genius, what color are my underwear then?" she joked.

"You're not wearing any of those either!" he countered.

Kairi let out a half gasp, half laugh before punching him in the arm. "Don't be stupid, I am too!" she stated.

"Well if you manage to sit any closer to me than you already are, then you won't be for very long." he said darkly, his eyes motioning to their legs, which were pushed tightly against one another with her arm half on her own leg and half on his.

Kairi had to take a moment to get the shocked look and deep crimson color off her face while moving her arm away before responding, "Oh, well since when did _you_ become the King of pick-up lines?"

Riku shrugged, "Since always."

Kairi laughed loudly, "I don't know when you would have had time for that. Did you practice on King Mickey."

He laughed with her this time, "You _know_ I did, and let me say he was _quite_ convinced."

After the small fiasco, the two got their laughs out of their systems and calmed down.

Kairi took a deep breath and sighed contently, "Hey, how come you wouldn't spar with Tidus? You used to never be able to resist that."

Riku looked down at his shoes, "I don't want to hurt him. I get afraid of myself now sometimes, you know?" he said, looking to her. "Having the power to take someone's life so easily is...unsettling."

Kairi nodded, "I know what you're saying."

She placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned her head onto him, a little surprised at her own actions, "But, I also know you wouldn't ever do anything like that."

Riku breathed out shakily. Partly at what they were talking about, and partly at how she was relaxing on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but I decided I don't want to fight anymore...not unless I have to."

"Hmm...good." she mumbled.

They sat in a confortable silence after that, neither content to move. Both knowing the only thing that would interrupt would be one of their friends.

* * *

"Hey Selph." Riku greeted her, she was sitting under a nearby tree on the other half of the island. Tidus, Wakka and Kairi had gone to draw some more pictures on the wall in the secret place. They all knew it was childish, but it had been their thing since they were young. Everyone's thing really. They all had done something on there from time to time, and each picture had been left untouched. 

"Hey Riku." she said back. "I thought you were with the others?"

"Nah," he said sitting down beside her, "Felt like being in the sunshine."

"Mmm me too!" she agreed, stretching out her legs.

"Say," he started, "we haven't had time to talk, you and I. What have you been up to?"

"Well," Selphie pondered, "Not much went on during the school year. Nothing really changed or happened, but you guys never told me how fun high school was!" she exclaimed.

Ah yes, that's right. Riku always forgot Selphie was two years younger than him, and a year younger than Sora, Kairi and Wakka. She and Tidus had just finished their first year of high school.

"Sorry," he apologised, "Guess I've just been used to it is all."

"Ah, it doesn't matter. But we all sure did have a lot of fun at all the parties! I wish you and Sora could have been there."

Riku looked at her, unsure, "Parties eh?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at her, "Sure you didn't have any drunken hanky-panky at these parties Selph?"

Selphie burst out laughing, "No, I'm no slut...but Kairi on the other hand-"

"What!"

Selphie moved away from him, slightly scared from his outbusrt, "Ah! Relax, relax, I was kidding...she didn't do anything _that_ serious."

Riku exhaled and backed away from Selphie. Well, just because she hadn't done _that_, didn't mean he felt better at the fact that _was_ doing other stuff... But who was he to say what she could and couldn't do?

Selphie sensed his discomfort in the matter and spoke up, "Hey, she's not stupid Riku. She wouldn't do anything you wouldn't do."

Riku looked up and gave her a warning glare.

"What? Was that not comforting...?"

"It was definately not comforting."

His actions suddenly piqued at Selphie's curiosity, "Why do you care so much anyways?"

Riku stopped to think of a good answer that wouldn't be saying anything other than what a best friend was supposed to say, "...Because I just do."

Brilliant. That was the best he could come up with. There was no fooling Selphie with an excuse like that. If there was one thing in the whole world that could define that girl, it would be a hopeless romantic.

He wasn't surprised when he saw a smile play on her features and her eyes glitter with realization, "You like her." she stated.

"Selphie...c'mon."

"You do. You do! I always knew by the way you looked at her...you and Sora. I mean, with Sora it was kind of obvious just by the way he acted around her. Not with you though, you just looked. Sora does too, but I noticed you look with more...more..." she placed a finger to her lips and looked up into the sky looking for the right word.

"Passion."

"Yeah that's the word." she continued to ramble and all Riku could do was stare dumbfoundidly at her. Everything that was pouring out of her mouth was entirely true and there was nothing he could say to defend himself.

"...Yeah...I noticed that every time she wasn't around, you were all normal, but then she'd come over or something and Sora would get all happy like a little kid at christmas or something. Then, I'd look at you who had become quiet, and your eyes would droop just a little, becoming warmer with a faint little smile on your face. You'd just keep your mouth shut." Selphie sighed dreamily and folded her hands together while placing them on her cheek.

"That's so cute."

Ah Selphie, that hopeless little romantic...If she ever spoke a word about this...

* * *

It was late afternoon when they all decided to head home. Riku followed Tidus and Wakka onto the dock with Kairi and Selphie not far behind. He had made sure to stay in front of Selphie and not look their way. He knew she'd be analyzing his every move. 

"Hey Kairi! Let's have a sleepover!" he heard Selphie speak up from behind him, "We can stay up all night and gossip."

Gossip; the Devil's talk. Riku spun his head around as soon as Selphie mentioned it with an all knowing hint in her voice. Their eyes met and he narrowed them in warning.

Selphie shrugged and gave him a silent look that said 'relax' before Kairi came into the conversation, "What's wrong Riku? You bummed cause you're not invited to the all girl's slumber party?" she said with false concern as she linked his hand with her own.

How could she make all his uncertaintly go away with one sentence? He smiled warmly at her, "You got me." he sighed, "I know I'm gonna be missing one hell of a pillow fight. But don't worry, I'll be waiting at Selphie's window with my trusty camera."

"Now that's the way to do it, man!" Wakka called to him from his boat and giving him a thumbs up before taking off.

"Don't worry Riku, you and I can have another sleepover another time, it's only been a week." she promised. Riku glanced back to guage Selphie's reaction, only to find her with her mouth half open in surprise and half smiling at the same time.

Kairi let her hand slide gently out of his, and he recluctantly let go and headed to the opposite side of the dock where his boat was.

When Kairi's back was turned and busy getting in her boat, Riku shook his head with embarrasment as he watched Selphie grin at him with utmost satisfaction. She even threw in a few obscense guestures as well.

_'This is gonna be a long summer.'_ he decided as they all headed home.

* * *

C'mon you hooligans shakes fist I need to know if I'm doin' an okay job here. Review please! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own KH

Alrighty, chapter 4! Hope ya like it, please review guys!

"…"

"Kairi?"

"…"

"Kairi!"

The dazed girl snapped out of her thoughts when her friend hit her in the face with a chip.

"Huh? Oh, Sorry Selph" She apologized, "I just spaced out for a minute there, I guess."

Selphie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I can see that. What's up?" she asked before delving her hand back into the bag of chips.

Kairi sighed and moved to lie down on her stomach, hands pressed against her chin with her elbows resting on the floor. "Nothin'. Just thinking I suppose.

"Ooh, I bet I know what about." Selphie teased.

"Huh?"

Selphie casually flicked her hair behind her shoulders and got up off the couch to sit with Kairi on her sleeping bag. "You should just forget it all Kairi."

"But I-"

"No, sorry, not forget…just…put it all behind you. You'll be a lot happier if you go back to the way things were. Isn't that what you wanted?" she said, giving the other girl time to speak. Selphie wasn't stupid. She knew her friend was having trouble in dealing with all the things that had gone on in the past year.

Kairi bit her lip and frowned, "Ugh… I don't know. It's just hard to put anything behind me when it's not back to normal in the first place…since Sora is still gone. That, and the whole Riku "thing"."

Selphie nodded with understanding but stopped when she registered what Kairi had said, "Whoa, wait. Riku thing?"

"Yeah…I dunno, something's changed in him, but he's still the same." She explained, reaching to grab the bag of chips off the table and putting a few in her mouth. "I can't really explain it, Selph. We've just been getting closer as friends since Sora left. I feel kinda guilty."

"…Go on…"

Kairi placed the chips bag on the table and sat up, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them protectively, "Like, we were always best friends but it was always the three of us. It was sometimes just Sora and I, or Sora and Riku…but never me and Riku. It always felt a little off, just the two of us and now it really doesn't and I like it."

Selphie scratched her head, "So…what? You feel more comfortable with him now, or something?"

"Yeah, something like that Selph." Kairi said with a laugh.

"And what do you mean by he's different but the same?" Selphie continued to pry.

Kairi shrugged, "Like I said, I can't explain it."

Selphie placed a finger on her chin and looked up at the ceiling in thought; hoping to figure out just what she was talking about.

"I know what's different!" She announced.

Kairi looked at her with surprise and doubt, "You…do?"

"Yeah!" Selphie exclaimed, "He got hot!"

This sent her friend into a small it of giggles, "Oh, you think so huh? Well, he was always good looking…"

"Ah ha, I knew you thought so!" she taunted.

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Oh c'mon, it's not like it's hard to see or anything. Riku was always cute. Now I guess, he jus grew up…real nicely." She trailed off.

Selphie grinned, "So, would you ever…you know…go out with him or anything like that? Or even like, have an innocent foolaround? I know how you get at parties with a few shooters in ya."

Kairi looked to her with embarrassment, "Hey! C'mon, I'm really not THAT bad! Especially compared to all the other girls! I've done like, nothing!" she defended herself.

Selphie almost burst out laughing at how defensive she was getting but decided to hold it in, "I know, I know, I was only teasing…but seriously though…? Would ya?" she asked in anticipation. Truth be told, Selphie knew if she got a positive answer she wouldn't be the one two hook the two up or anything. Sora was her friend too, and if anything was going to happen, it was going to happen on its own…but that didn't mean Selphie couldn't inform her friends of the whole situation now could it?

Kairi sat in serious thought for a moment. She had occasionally wondered what it would be like, but always pushed those thoughts far from her mind. After all, Riku was one of her best friends…and best friends weren't supposed to feel that way. Now that she was actually having some time to contemplate the whole situation though, it somewhat scared her when she realized it was quite enticing.

"Yeah…" she finally responded, "I think I probably would." It sounded surprising even to her. Kairi glanced to Selphie to see what her reaction was.

She shrugged, "Hey, I don't blame you. I mean, not only is he hot…with like…an amazing boy, but he's totally cool too."

"You raise good points…but wouldn't a situation like that get kinda weird? I mean, I don't know if I'd be up for a serious relationship. I've never really thought about it…much."

Selphie smirked to herself. Oh, this was too easy. Read Riku like a book, then ask Kairi anything. That's all there was to it.

"Well…what about Sora?"

Kairi found herself frowning again, "You know…I know how he feels about me now and I've tried to picture it in my head, just to se if it would work. Maybe to see if I could give him a chance, but I can't. Thinking about it just doesn't feel right. I do feel bad though."

"Hey, cheer up!" Selphie said, giving her a small slap on the arm, "I'd think that just knowing that you have two guys who'd do anything to make you happy and practically drool over you to be satisfying enough. Not to mention they're your best friends."

Kairi looked at her, confused. "Say that again please?"

Selphie rolled her eyes, "Ugh, you know? Sora? And Riku? They're both like, in love with you?"

Now she was lost, but it didn't feel all that bad for some reason. "What makes you think Riku…"

"Likes you? I dunno, maybe the way he stares at you like you're the only thing he can see? Or the way that, despite they're best friends, he and Sora are always bickering and fighting when you're around? Or, that he'd probably do anything for you. Just try asking him about what happened while you were heartless."

Kairi stared at Selphie with utter shock, "Selphie…How do you know about – "

"Hey," she interrupted, "I only know what happened to him cause I heard him and Sora talking about it before he left.

"I can't ask him anything." She confessed, "He said he'd tell me when he was ready, but why hasn't he mentioned any of this? If it is true."

Selphie sighed again. Sometimes Kairi could be too naïve for her own good. "In case you haven't noticed, Sora happens to be the more forward one about it. And there's the fact that they never fight or spar anymore really. I think Riku might have stepped down or something. Maybe if you want to be with Sora, he's accepted that.

A sudden realization hit her, "So that's why he was so edgy when I asked him about Sora the other night. Selphie…how long have you suspected…"

"A long time. And, you know I'm always right about these things."

Kairi got up to sit on the couch, "I still can't believe he never did or said anything."

"For the same reasons you haven't…Sora."

"You're right, but hey! What makes you think that I would have done something?"

"Why else would it have felt strange to be around him alone? Kairi, listen. Sora has been gone for two weeks, and look what's happened between you two. Look at how close you've gotten. Now just imagine what it would have been like if Sora were never around at all…I'm not saying it's good or bad, but it's how things would have turned out. You said it yourself you feel guilty. Being just friends isn't anything to feel guilt about and you know that. You feel guilty because…"

"I like him…?"

Selphie nodded and smiled, "There, see? Now you're catching on."

The next morning, Kairi and Selphie found themselves up quite early, to their disliking. Selphie suggested that they go to the island early for fun. At around eight o'clock or so, the two got dressed and showered and headed down to the docks.

Kairi stepped into her own boat and began to untie it when she noticed something missing. Standing up and looking around, she figured out what it was, "Selph?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Riku's boat?"

Selphie took her own look around the docks, unable to stop what Kairi was looking for and shrugged, "Beats me. He might already be over there…for some odd reason."

"Maybe you're right. Weird…I didn't know he was a morning person."

Selphie hopped into her own boat as they both began to row out into the ocean, "Hey, maybe he pulled an all-nighter sitting outside my window and couldn't get to sleep after."

Kairi chuckled when she remembered his comment from the previous day about spying on them. "Maybe we should ask him?"

It didn't take long for the two to reach the island. As they drew closer to it, their chatting stopped. Kairi squinted her eyes and looked to the dock. Sure enough, Riku's boat was securely tied to it.

"Hey, there's Riku's boat." She said.

Selphie looked to where she was pointing and asked, "But where's Riku?"

Kairi scanned the distance of the island and saw no movement. It was entirely possible that he was on the other side, or in the secret place. She was about to tell Selphie that she had no idea where he was when she caught a glimpse of disturbed water near the shoreline. When she glanced to it, she saw Riku come up out of the water.

"Found him." She said.

"He must be tired." Selphie pointed out, "He hasn't even noticed us yet."

Just then, an idea popped into Kairi's head. "Selphie, row over behind the terrace." She ordered.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it! And be quiet about it." She said in a hushed tone.

Selphie complied and the two rowed silently away from the docks and over behind the safety of the terrace where they wouldn't be seen. When they were out of sight, Kairi stood up in her boat.

"Kairi, what are you doing?"

"I'm gonna scare the crap outta him." She said, in a satisfied tone while she unzipped her dress and left it on the floor of her boat so she was clad only in her bikini. "Make sure my boat doesn't get away will ya?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember to be super quiet."

Kairi gave Selphie a thumbs up before diving silently into the water. Holding her breath, she paddled below surface toward the docks. When she felt her air run out, Kairi lifted her head up above the water slowly. She was behind the docks now. Riku was still in the water, facing away from her. He got up from his floating position on his back and stood up. Kairi took this chance to dive back under and swam towards him. When she saw his legs appear under the water, she brought herself back above the surface yet again.

Riku had stood up and stretched out his arms, taking a moment to bask in the heat of the morning sun. He enjoyed waking himself up with a quick swim. Although, he wasn't usually up this early in the summer. It was nice though; everything was quiet and peaceful and he had his alone time. Or…so he thought. Riku felt something playing in the back of his head. Someone was coming. The water was moving and he wasn't doing it. At first he thought it was a fish, but then found that the movement in the water was too great, so, without any other option, Riku hesitantly turned around only to be violently shoved down to the ground.

Not only was Riku surprised by the attack, but Kairi was as well. She really hadn't intended for him to turn around. The plan was to jump him from behind, but being in mid-air while he turned around…it just couldn't be stopped.

They landed with a splash in the shallow water. Riku sat up and held himself up with his arms behind his back, the water reaching just past his elbows. He shook his head and opened his eyes with confusion, and slight joy. "…Kairi?"

Unable to answer due to laughing so hard, Kairi struggled to form coherent words, "R- Riku, I-I I'm sorry!"

He continued to sit there in silence while she was still engaged in laughing. His mouth was slightly open, still trying to fathom what the hell happened. He noticed that his body felt heavier, looking down he realized that not only had Kairi fallen with him, but she had fallen on top of him as well. He was sitting under the water, and she on his lap, legs on either side of him. He didn't really _want_ to move anymore now…

She had finally calmed down and wrapped her arms around him quickly in a hug and then pulled back with her hands on his shoulders, "Riku, are you alright?"

"…Yeah…what?"

"I am _so_ sorry. I didn't mean to knock you over." She said with another laugh.

"Where did you even come from?" he asked.

"Selphie and I came here early and saw you swimming, so I decided to sneak up on you. I really didn't know you were gonna turn around, I was just going to jump on your back and scare you."

Riku threw his head back and laughed, "Well good job."

Since she had stopped laughing, Kairi finally got a chance to notice the situation they were in. Well, she hadn't intended on landing _on_ him…but it really wasn't all bad. They both silenced themselves when it occurred to them that they were both half naked. Kairi tried not to let her eyes wander, but it didn't work so well. She glanced down and took in the sight of him. Truth be told, he looked way too old for what he was. Strong arms, defined chest…abs, very nice ones. It was a damn good thing he was too busy looking at her to notice her own staring.

Selphie sighed with annoyance when Kairi hadn't come back. She grabbed the rope off Kairi's boat and tied it to her own and began to row toward the dock. When she came into view of the rest of the island, she looked up and slapped her forehead, and cursing aloud to herself, "Oh, for the love of – HEY!" she called out.

She watched Riku and Kairi's heads snap toward her direction. 'I thought you were going to _scare_ him! Not _seduce_ him!"

Kairi felt her face go red, but decided in facing embarrassment and just yelled back, "Well I was! But you know, one thing led to another, Selph!" she felt Riku laugh beneath her and wrap one arm around her bare waist then pushed them both off the ground effortlessly with his other hand, keeping her attached to his hips. He stood both of them up and gently led go of her, letting her slide down the ground.

"Kairi looked to him, "I am sorry, Riku."

He shook his head and smiled, "Don't even worry about it, I'm fine."

"Good." She smiled back.

By this time, Selphie had tied their boats and jogged over to the edge of the beach, "Hey! Get out of the water and let's eat some breakfast!" she called, holding up their fishing rods that she and Kairi had brought along.

"You up for food?" she asked, looking up at Riku.

"Sure thing." He agreed as they waded out of the water to start the day.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

First off, thanks to everyone for the positive and constructive reviews. It means like a whole big bundle of importantness to me so please keep it up!

* * *

Kairi sat atop the small cabin that stood by the waterfall and continued to watch the boys playing with Wakka's blitzball on the beach right below her. 

Ever since her conversation with Selphie the previous night, she found herself monitoring Riku the entire day. Watching his every move, look, listening to his tone of voice; all to observe and to try and see what Selphie was seeing.

She really hadn't meant to do so, it just kind of happened. It started this morning when the three of them went off to go fishing. Kairi had wanted to go off to the mini island to fish, even though there were less fish there. She just liked the area better, where as Selphie said she was headed to the docks to fish, which they all knew was a better place. In the end, the two went to their separate locations. Riku hadn't said a word and followed Kairi. This was one of the first little things she noticed. Of course, she didn't know if it actually meant anything, so, curiously Kairi continued to watch him throughout the day.

"Heads up!" she heard someone yell, and ducked just in time to dodge the flying blitzball that went soaring past her head, almost knocking her popsicle right out of her hand.

Kairi shot an angered look toward the boys, who were now all looking at her.

"Sorry, Kai." Riku said sheephishly, rubbing the back of his head.

She just rolled her eyes and smiled before reaching back to toss the ball back at them, "Just don't let it happen again." she warned.

"Yes, ma'am. Hey, do you wanna come play?" he invited.

"No thanks."

Riku shrugged and tossed the ball back to Tidus. Kairi then watched him walk away from the others and over towards her. When he reached the cabin, he took a leap and landed on the top and sat down beside her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Coming to sit with you."

"You were in the middle of playing blitzball."

Riku shrugged again, "I've been playing long enough."

"I see." Kairi mused. It was the things like this that had been happening all day that made her think Selphie's theories about him liking her were indeed true. She had to admit, she was really starting to like it though.

"Gimme a bite of that." he said, leaning towards her.

Kairi smiled and complied, putting her popsicle to his mouth as he took a bite of it. She laughed when some of it melted and dripped down his chin.

"Very classy, Riku."

"Ah, shut up." he remarked, wiping the liquid off. "So why did Selphie have to leave early?"

"Oh, she had some plans with her family or something like that."

"That sucks."

"Yeah."

"Hey," Riku nudged her slightly, "We were thinking that we should all stay the night here tonight."

"That would be awesome!" Kairi said excitedly. They had always wanted to stay on the island over night, but their parents would never have it back when they were a little younger.

"Alright good, we worried that you wouldn't want to come, cause then with Selphie gone it would have been three guys on an island alone for the night...kinda weird." Riku pointed out and laughed.

Kairi giggled, "You're right. But, it's almost supper time, so shouldn't we head back and get our stuff?"

"Yeah, let's go." he agreed, hopping down off the cabin.

"Move so I can jump." she told him when she saw that he was still directly below her.

Riku turned his back towards her and look over his shoulder, holding his arms out. "Jump." he said

Kairi looked at him a little surprised, "I'm not jumping, you'll fall down."

Riku rolled his eyes, "Kairi, I will not fall down. Just jump, I'll catch you."

She hesitated before finally deciding to trust him and walked right off the ledge of the roof. She landed right on the center of his back and he immediately gripped onto her thighs with his hands so she wouldn't fall any lower.

Kairi wrapped her arms around his neck, being careful not to get any of her popsicle on him.

"See," Riku boasted, turning his head to look at her face, which was now very close to his, "I told you I'd catch you."

"Yeah whatever, now move!" she ordered playfully.

Riku did as he was told and began walking toward the docks where Wakka and Tidus were already close to.

Kairi noticed that the last bit of her popsicle was beginning to melt and she couldn't reach it, so she moved it up to Riku who took the rest of it, giving her the best, "Thank you." he could with the stick still in his mouth.

Kairi yawned and settled her head on Riku's shoulder, leaning into his own head.

"Oh yeah," he spoke up, spitting the stick out, "you were up early this morning. Tired?"

"Mmm hmm." she mumbled.

"You sure you're up for staying here tonight then?"

"Yes," she said lazily, "I'll just have a nap when I get home."

"Aw, don't tell me she's not coming either?" Tidus' voice spoke out from the docks that were only a few feet away now.

Riku shook his head, "Nah, she's just tired, she's coming." he told them, letting Kairi gently down off his back.

"You better not fall asleep and be a party pooper tonight, ya?" Wakka cut in.

Kairi waved him off, "I'll be fine."

"Alright! Well, see you all later!" he said as they all hopped into their bats and headed back to the mainland.

* * *

"So which one of you rugged woodsmen forgot to bring the flashlight huh?" Kairi joked as she and the guys fumbled around in the bushes, unable to see without any light. 

"Wakka's fault." Tidus retorted.

"No way, man!"

"Shut up. We all forgot." Riku pointed out, "Doesn't matter now does it. I found some sticks." he announced. The sound of twigs snapping followed. "Alright, let's go."

Tidus and Wakka were the last ones who walked into the bushes to search for firesticks to roast their food with so they were the first ones out. Kairi had gone in first.

Riku followed the boys but stopped when he heard Kairi call his name, "Kai? Where are you?"

"I'm right here, but I can't see a thing." she chuckled, reaching out into the darkness and waving her hand around. It eventually came into contact with Riku's and he grasped it.

"Here, this way." he said, guiding her out of the bushes and toward their campfire on the beach.

"Thanks."

* * *

"So, so then!" Tidus choked on his words from laughter in mid story. 

"Tidus, your marshmellow is burnin'!" Wakka yelled.

"Huh!" he looked up, "Damn!" he cursed, blowing out the fire.

"Go back to the story." Riku urged, "It was new years, and you guys were all at that party right?"

"Oh! Oh yeah!"

"Tidus c'mon...please, this story is so embarrassing!" Kairi said, burying her hands in her face.

He didn't listen, "So it was almost midnight and we're all doing the countdown from ten right? The WHOLE room, and on Four, Kairi comes bursting in the room, drunk off her ass and yells like, as loud as she can -" he was cut off when Kairi jumped on him.

"Tidus shut up!"

Wakka burst out laughing and pulled her off of their friend.

"And she yelled, "Guys, what time is it!" And everyone in the room just stopped counting down and stared at her, right before she tripped and fell down!"

Riku threw his head back and began laughing hysterically.

Kairi moved back onto her own sleepingbag beside his and pouted.

"K-Kairi, that's...that's hilarious!" he managed to blurt out.

All three of them were laughing now, at her expense.

"Alright, so it was one time!" she tried to defend herself.

"Aww, we're just kidding around." Riku assured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him and giving her a friendly pat.

"Yeah, I know." she grumbled, leaning into him.

Riku pulled his stick out of the fire and examined his marshmellow, "I don't even know why I cooked this. I'm full." he said and pushed the marshmellow in Kairi's direction, "You want it?" she opened up her mouth and he fed her the marshmellow off the stick.

"Yeah, I'm full too man." Wakka said, patting his stomach.

"So, Riku," Tidus spoke up, "what about you? You got any stories for us."

Kairi realized Riku still had his arm draped over her shoulders when she felt him tense at the question.

"Umm, not really..." he trailed off.

Wakka and Tidus sensed his discomfort and decided to back off about the subject, "Oh, ok, that's fine..."

After a brief moment of an intensely awkward silence, Kairi spoke up, "What time is it anyway?"

Tidus glanced down at his watch, trying to catch the time in the light of the fire, "Almost midnight."

"Wow already?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, I am kinda tired, ya?" Wakka said.

"Really?" Kairi said, surprised.

Wakka shrugged, "I'm not a night person." he confessed with a yawn, which Tidus mimiced directly afterwards.

"Blah, yawns are contageous." he stated, stretching his arms.

"What, so do you guys wanna go to bed or something?" Kairi questioned.

"Well," Wakka said, resting his head on his pillow, "We got nothin' else to do."

"Uh huh." Tidus agreed enthusiastically, getting comfy with his own sleeping gear.

"Alright, whatever." Kairi giggled. She thought guy sleepovers were always all-nighters. Apparently not with these losers. "Night guys."

"Night."

* * *

They had left the fire going. There was nothing to be caught aflame on the beach, and they had moved far enough away from it so as their sleeping bags weren't a hazard. 

Kairi lay on her back, hands behind her head looking up at the clear sky. She couldn't sleep due to Tidus and Wakka snoring, and the fact that she wasn't really tired. She wasn't quite sure how long she had been laying there; maybe an hour? Kairi assumed Riku was asleep. He hadn't said a word since they went to bed.

Sighing deeply, she turned and rested with her back facing the fire. She tried closing her eyes so that hopefully sleep would take her. It wasn't long though, before she heard the sleeping bag next to her rustle. Kairi turned to find Riku's bed empty. She sat up and squinted her eyes to see him walking off in the direction of the mini island. Curious, she slipped out of her sleeping bag quietly and began to follow him. He was considerably further than her and she didn't want to call to him and wake up the others, so she followed silently.

By the time she had been led under the bridge, Kairi's eyes had already adjusted to the darkness and she could almost clearly see Riku ahead of her, passing through the door to the other side of the island.

As he walked through the door, she followed just in time to see him take a great leap all the way across the broken walkway and walk down onto the beach.

Kairi grumbled and hopped down the ledge and waded through the knee high water to where Riku was. He hadn't seen her yet, he was too busy undressing himself.

"Riku!" she called when she was about twenty feet away.

His head snapped up and looked in her direction. "Kairi." he said with surprise. "What are you doing?"

"I never fell asleep and I heard you leave." she answered. "What are you doing?"

Riku shrugged and kicked off his shoes. "I couldn't really sleep either, so I decided to go for a swim."

"Mind if I join you?"

He shook his head and pulled off his pants so he was wearing just his swimming shorts. "Not at all."

Kairi smiled and quickly shed herself of her clothes to join him.

"Hey," he said, tapping her shoulder, "Wanna see something cool?"

"Yeah."

He grinned at her and took off up onto the lookout tower.

"See the drop off point over there?" he pointed to a dark patch of water not too far from the shore.

"You're too far from the water, Riku. You won't make that." she warned.

He grinned at her and held his chin up, "I told you, Kai, I learned a few things while I was gone." and with that, he ran from the back of the tower and hopped up onto the front ledge, kicking off of it as hard as he could soaring into the air and down into a perfect dive into where the water was deep. Or so Kairi had hoped.

He surfaced a few moments later with the same cocky grin plastered on his face.

"You're ridiculous." she stated, reaching back to double knot the string on the neck of her bathing suit top.

To her pleasant surprise, Riku just shrugged. To be honest, she had expected him to say something like, "You're just jealous." Or something along those lines. He would have before.

"Is the water warm?" she asked.

"Yes." he said without hesitation, dunking his head half under so that only his eyes were peering out of the water. Riku watched as she strode hastily into the ocean but stopped when the water reached mid thigh with a look of pure shock locked on her face. There she stood, for a moment with her hands above the water before she squeezed her eyes shut and yelled, "It's _freezing!_"

Riku popped his head out of the water and burst out laughing.

"You're such an ass!" she spat at him, half jokingly while taking backwards steps out of the water.

Riku, of course, would have no such thing and pulled the rest of his body upward and began stalking towards her as fast as he could. Kairi caught on and let out a small, "Eep!" before turning around to make a run for it. Unfortunately, she was much too slow and felt herself get tugged backwards by the waist.

He had her pinned with one arm to him. Her back was to his front and Kairi felt her body stiffen and melt at the same time and the feeling of the skin on skin contact.

Riku felt the change in movement of her muscles as soon as she was attached to him and took this as an opportune moment to turn her around and fling her up over his shoulder in one swift movement.

As soon as she realized what was happening, or what was going to happen, Kairi began pounding on Riku's back with her fists. "Riku! No! Please, it's cold!" she begged. When she decided the punches weren't effective she began clawing at his back. He merely chuckled at her feeble attempts, "That tickles."

Great, now what was she going to do? Well he couldn't exactly drop her in the water if she refused to let go, right? Just as Riku loosened his grip on her back and prepared to launch Kairi in to the water, she quickly secured her arms around his waist. The force of him "throwing" her along with her weight on top of him caught him off guard when he realized that she wasn't letting go and they both ended up tumbling into the water.

Riku was the first to surface. He kept his body submerged under the water and brushed the damp hair out of his face. Kairi followed not long after.

"See, now look what ya did." Riku joked with a smirk on his face that quickly disappeared when he picked up that she wasn't laughing...at all. Instead, Kairi sat there in the water, teeth chattering, arms around herself, soaking wet.

_'Oops...'_

He figured she really hadn't been all that thrilled to get in the water, but he didn't think she'd be _that_ cold. Riku swam over to Kairi, who was still shivering rather uncontrolably and brought his arms around her, moving them up and down to try and warm her up.

"Kairi, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be that cold."

"That's okay." she said, managing to stifle out a small laugh and leaning into him. The air was cold on her skin now so the water actually seemed slightly warmer. Riku moved and dunked them under so just their heads were above the surface.

"Great. Now I won't want to get out." she mentioned, causing him to laugh a little.

Kairi felt herself beginning to warm up and pulled away from Riku and treading water near him. He followed suit and ducked under the water. It really wasn't that cold when you got used to it. After he surfaced, Riku caught something at the corner of his eye. At first he thought it was jus tthe moon reflecting off the water, but as he took a closer look he realized it was something else.

"Kairi." he said. She look to him, "Look over there." he pointed.

Kairi turned and looked out toward the horizon and what Riku was looking at. She spotted a small, shimmering object not too far from them. Without thinking she began swimming towards it with Riku soon following after.

When she was no more than five feet away from the object, it didn't take long for her to figure out what it was. Reaching out and grasping it with her hand, Kairi picked up the object and examined it.

"A bottle?" Riku's voice said from behind her.

"Yeah."

"Open it."

Kairi did as he asked and opened up the bottle and removed a letter from it.

"It's from Sora."

* * *

Yeah, sorry for the delay guys! But, keep the reviews coming please and thankies!

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Don't you kids worry, we're drawing ever nearer to conflict.

* * *

The water was deep. Kairi and Riku were eager to read the letter, but treading water with one hand and trying to read wasn't that fun. Kairi reluctantly shoved the letter back into the bottle and sealed it. 

"Come on," she said to Riku before heading off back to land.

They made it back and walked up onto the shore and sat down beside each other in the sand where they opened the bottle once again and took out the letter from Sora.

_Kairi & Riku,_

_Sorry. I thought I would be back by now. I didn't mean to make you guys wait so long, but no worries! Everything is fine. But it looks like I'm going to be here longer...we haven't been fighting, but we discovered some new things inside the Radiant Garden castle that the keyblade is needed for. We've been excavating through all the rubble and such. I sent this to tell you that I won't be back to stay yet, but we want you to come here for a little while. We can get a portal opened and I'll come and get you! Please say yes, I'll be there tomorrow!_

_Sora_

After skimming over the letter, the two sat there in silence.

"He's...coming to get us?" Kairi repeated, to be certain she had read right.

"Looks like it..."

Both were thinking the same thing. They had just gotten home. Did they really want to leave again?

"I guess it would be to see Sora." Riku said, almost reading Kairi's thoughts, "And everyone else too... and this time we don't have to fight."

Kairi smiled a little, "Kinda like a vacation?"

"Kind of. Let's go." Riku offered seriously, looking to her.

She stared back almost hesitantly. Something besides leaving home was bothering her. She had a feeling she knew what it was though. This tension they had, as of late, since Sora left. It might go away if they went to see him. But tension was never a good thing, wouldn't they want it to go away? Or maybe she could take care of it before they left?

"Yeah. Let's go."

"Really?"

She nodded, "Yeah, we can be together again, instead of having to wait for one of us to come home."

Riku smiled and stood up, reaching out his hand to help her to her deet. She took it and lifted herself up off the dirt. They both wiped the wet sand off them and picked up their clothes. They were still wet, so they didn't bother getting dressed yet.

"I'm not tired still. Are you?" Kairi asked him as they were walking back to the fire.

Riku shook his head, "Not really."

"You wanna hang out in the secret place for a while? Until we get tired?"

He shrugged, "Sure."

The two made their way quietly passed the fire, being careful not to wake Tidus or Wakka, who were still snoring loudly.

Kairi peered down at the two sprawled in their sleeping bags, fast asleep and suppressed a giggle. She alsmot gasped when she was tugged away almost roughly.

"What was that for?" she whispered to Riku, who had a hold on her hand.

He motioned for her to be quieter and pointed down to where she had been walking.

"Seashell. Really sharp. You don't have shoes on." he said quietly.

"Thanks." she said back as they continued into the cave, unaware that they had left their hands together.

Kairi trailed her hands along the dark wall of the cave's entrance as Riku led her through. When they reached the inside, Riku dropped her hand and reached into his pants that he was still carrying and pulled out a lighter. They had been in the secret place when it was dark before so there was a previously made fireplace situated in the middle. He knelt down and lit some of the twigs, which caught onto some dry leaves. Before long, there was a nice small fire burning bright enough to light the cave.

Riku noticed Kairi had been starting at the ground for a long time. He looked at her while she was in thought. Her hair was still damp, it hung low on the sides of her face. She appeared to be concentrating, lost in something. Her eyes were blank, and a drop of water fell from her parted lips.

"Kairi?" he spoke softly.

"Riku..."

She sounded serious. He scooted closer to her. She was still looking down, but he moved his face closer to hers to try and catch her eyes. "What is it?"

"Selphie knows...but she won't tell me."

Now he was confused. "Selphie knows what?"

"She heard you and Sora talking once, before he left. She didn't mean to. About...everything that had happened. Everything I was asleep for."

_'Uh oh...'_

Riku swallowed, but said nothing.

"Please..." she said desperately, looking up to him now, her eyes no longer blank but filled with emotion. "Please, Riku tell me. What did you do that was so bad that you can't tell me?"

He bit his lip shifted his eyes. He couldn't avoid it this time. He had been a terrible friend to Sora. He didn't want her to know that, and he didn't want her to know why.

"I..."

She moved closer to him before he continued so that their legs were now touching and she placed a hand lightly on his knee, trying to comfort him, make it easier.

"I...worked with Maleficent."

Kairi's eyes went wide, but she knew he wasn't finished yet. Riku leant into her and continued.

"When the island was destroyed, we were all separated. Maleficent found me. I asked her if she'd seen Sora first. She told me yes. I was ecstatic, but she warned me that he didn't care about me. I didn't buy it. She brought me to him though, and when I found him, he was having fun with Donald and Goofy." he paused and sighed.

"...Go on." she urged.

"I figured not everything she said could be true, so I retreated. I needed time to think. Then Maleficent told me she found you. I didn't think for a moment. I went with her. When she brought me to you, you had already lost your heart. I didn't know what to do. She told me to join her and she could help you. I knew she was bad news...I wasn't stupid. But I wasn't about to leave you alone with her, she must have wanted something with you, I figured, but I was going to fix you. So, I played along. But as I stayed with you, doing everything she told me to do that would help you, I kept watching Sora. He was always smiling when I saw him, never caring when I disappeared again. Never acting like he cared about you. I think it was then that I started to believe Maleficent, only a little, never enough to leave myself defenceless to her." Riku kept his eyes on the ground and was now resting his head on Kairi's shoulder. She didn't think he had this much to get out. It must've felt good and bad all at the same time.

"Sora and I fought...did you know that?"

"No..."

"That was after Ansem possessed me... right before you woke up. After we fought, I watched Sora bring your heart back and I knew I was no longer needed to protect you. I wanted to be needed. Everything I had done before, that was for you, but you were safe then. I met up with the King and we sealed the doors. I thought you and Sora would go back to the island together...now that you had each other. Sora stayed though, but I didn't want to be found. I helped him though. It was the least I could do. Then Axel took you...when we met at the Organization's Headquarters, I had every intention of leaving . I didn't want you to see me, but I couldn't refuse you asking me to stay, and I'm glad I did."

All this time she had no idea. Kairi looked down at him resting on her and he breathed a heavy sigh and looked up into her face.

"...You did that all for me?"

"Yes..."

At this point she really didn't care if what Selphie said about him liking her was true or not, she couldn't stop herself when she brought her hands to the side of his face, bent her head down and kissed him.

He was shocked, she could tell, as he didn't respond right away, but it didn't take long for him to pull back from his leaning position so that he was right beside her and start kissing back.

Riku placed his arm around her stomach and suddenly pulled her closer. Kairi let out a small opened mouth gasp at the quick movement, giving him the opportunity to slide his tongue into her parted lips.

She moaned softly as he sucked and licked along her bottom lip before moving to explore the rest of her mouth. Kairi moved her hand from the side of his face and ran it through his smooth hair, pulling him closer and pressing their lips harder together. Good god, he was a good kisser. It was too bad he suddenly backed off and broke their contact.

He looked back at her with unsure eyes.

"What?" she asked him, with utmost confusion.

"What...about Sora?" he mumbled, almost afraid to ask the question.

Kairi sighed and rolled her eyes. "I told you, I don't like him."

"But you said you needed time to figure things out..."

She smiled warmly at him, "That's very sweet of you for taking my feelings into consideration, but it would appear that I didn't need much time now would it?"

Riku looked aimlessly at one of the cavern walls, "I don't know if it would be fair to him..."

Kairi scoffed, "Riku, a few weeks ago, you thought you were in the same situation and you dealt with it." she pointed out, crawling back over to him, bringing her face close to his, "If I actually liked him, what do you think he would do?"

Riku looked at her. If she liked Sora, which he had thought she did, Sora wouldn't have thought twice about having her. So... why should he?

Well, now that that was settled, Riku didn't want to waste anymore time now did he? He caught her off-guard this time by pressing his lips back onto hers hungrily, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up on his lap.

He felt her lips tug upward into a grin as she moved her hands down off of his shoulder and trailed it all along his bare chest, lightly exploring every exposed part of his skin.

Riku breathed heavily at the feeling of her curious hands. Even if he hadn't been kissing her, just having her body so close to his was intoxicating. Never, had he thought he would be this near to her. Sometimes it was good to be wrong.

"I'm sure they're probably around here somewhere."

Kairi jumped at the voice they heard drawing nearer.

"Well, we did go to sleep kinda early."

The two picked themselved up of the cavern floor and straightened themselves up. They looked at each other, both knowing for some reason, that what had just happened was not getting out... not just yet.

"See! I told ya they was here!" Wakka boasted as he and Tidus rounded the last corner and came into sight.

"Hey guys," Riku greeted.

"Hey yourself." Tidus said back, crossing his arms, "What are you guys doing in here?"

"You lazy bums went to bed early, and we had no where to talk, and no fire to keep us warm, so we had to come in here." Kairi answered.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Wakka questioned.

She rolled her eyes, "We were swimming."

"Oh." Wakka said sheephishly, noticing their wet hair. "My bad..."

"Well," Riku piped up, "I'm kind tired anyway. And we're leaving tomorrow, so we best get some sleep."

"Leaving? Where are you going?" Tidus inquired.

"We got a letter from Sora, he's coming to get us."

"You mean he's not coming back yet? Man, that sucks." Wakka commented as they headed out of the secret place.

"Yeah, said he had some more things to take care of." Kairi said.

"Well at least you guys'll get to see him." Tidus stated.

"Yeah, and everyone else too." she said excitedly, crawling back into her sleeping bag, as did everyone else.

"Night guys." Riku said.

"Night."

"Night."

"Night guys, sweet dreams."

* * *

The rest of the night came and went, and the next day Kairi stood out on the beach waiting for Sora. She was chewing on her lip and fidgeting nervously. When and how were they going to tell him. She knew he wouldn't take it well. 

Riku startled her by walking up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Hey," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm trying not too."

"Relax." he demanded.

Kairi fell back into him when he started massaging her shoulders.

"Mmm, that feels nice." she mumbled.

"Let's go wait on the dock." he suggested.

"Mm kay..."

Riku slid his hands off of her and she let out an annoyed grumble and walked after him.

"How long do you think we'll be gone?" Kairi asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Dunno, but long enough to have a party for you."

"Party? Oh! My birthday!" she said with slight embarrassment, "Well I suppose it's good that one of us remembered."

She had completely forgotten that it was going to be her sixteenth birthday in a little over a week. All the stuff that had gone on must have dismissed it from her mind.

"Wait, that means... You already had your birthday."

Riku nodded. It was about a month ago, while they were gone.

"Wow, you're seventeen already. It doesn't seem like that long ago we had just gotten out of elementary school."

"Yeah, it's weird." He agreed.

Kairi grabbed his hand as they made their last steps toward the dock, "Well that means we have to have a party for you too."

He smiled but shook his head, "You don't have to."

"Ah shut up, you can share my party." she offered.

"If you want."

"I do."

"Okay then."

"Alright."

And with that settled, they both sighed and sat down on the end of the dock, hanging their feet off the edge. Kairi dipped her toes into the water and swished them around, scaring away the nearby fish. Riku leant back and rested himself on his palms and looked up into the sky. The two remained contently quiet, just listening to the sounds of the waves, until Kairi noticed a small glimmer in the water not too far away from them. It resembled the light she had seen when Riku and Sora first returned. Riku noticed it to and they both stood, backing up along the dock as the light shone brighter.

It continued to grow on the surface of the water, so much that it came to the point where they had to shield there eyes. After a few moments of holding their arms up, Kairi and Riku heard an all too familiar voice.

"Hey guys."

It was Sora, just as he promised.

* * *

There we go! Now it'll get interesting! I hope you guys keep reviewing, and more of them would certainly be appreciated so I can get a wide range of opnions! Thanks guys! 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own KH

Sorry for the lack of updating. End of school stuff sucks. But summer is soon and it's gonna be good : ) Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review please!

* * *

It had been awkward to say the least. For Kairi and Riku anyway. Sora had been talking and chit chatting away, informing them on all the progress they were having with the Radiant Garden castle and all its secrets. He didn't seem to feel the heaviness in the air like the other two did. After all, why would he? 

"Geez, you guy sure are talkative." he said when he realized they had barely spoken a word.

"Huh? Oh, well you just have so much to tell." Kairi told him. "We've just been sitting on the beach since you left. Same old same old you know?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah, I miss that. I can't wait to get back. Thanks a lot guys for coming here with me."

The two smiled back at him, the guilt growing deeper inside them with each passing moment.

"Hey, we're your friends. Why wouldn't we come?" Riku pointed out. "Now get a move on. We're almost there, and I'm hungry."

"Oh! Right." Sora said, rubbing the back of his head. He forgot that he had stopped walking when they were so close to Merlin's house.

* * *

"I'm telling you that's NOT the way it works!" the unmistakable voice of Yuffie bellowed throughout the house as the trio walked in the front door. 

"Shad up! I know how tuh work this piece of junk better than all a' you!" Cid yelled back, slamming a fist down on his keyboard.

"Calm down, Highwind."

Cid's shoulders went rigid. "Who th' hell said that?" he spoke up, turning around. "Well! If it ain't Riku and Kairi!" he stood up and walked over grinning at the two, completely disregarding Riku's statement. Riku had only met the man a few times but they had connected almost instantly.

"Damn, now I got four of you little brats on my back!"

"Can't you count old man?" Yuffie scoffed, "There's only three of them."

He sent her a glare, "Course' I can count, I was counting _you_!"

Yuffie shut her mouth and pouted.

"Hey, Cid, where did everyone go?" Sora stepped forward and asked.

The blonde man looked up and placed a hand on his chin, "Mmm... Dunno where that Merlin is, what with the disappearin' thing he does. Could be anywhere. An' last I checked Cloud and Leon were still at the castle.

"What about Aeris and Tifa?" Kairi asked, "I want to say hi to them."

"They're just next door." Yuffie told her.

"Oh yeah." Sora said, "I forgot the huge house next door is where we're staying. I'll take you guys over there now and show you your rooms."

"Who all moved into the big house?" Kairi asked.

"Everybody, except for Merlin."

Riku shook his head, "Wait, let me get this straight... You guys have seven people living in one giant house together any you're not partying eveyday?"

Sora scratched the back of his head, "Uhh well..."

"We haven't exactly had time for that." Yuffie chimed in. "Don't get me wrong, the girls and I have been all up for it, but with Cloud and Leon being huge stiffs all the time what with their "work". And of course Cid bein' an old man." "HEY!" "It's just kind of hard to get everyone together."

"Hmm, I see."

"Yeah, anyway, let's get over there." Sora suggested, pushing the two out the door.

* * *

He led his friends through the front door which expanded into a large living room with three couches, a large chair, fireplace and a television. To the right of the room, where one of the couches was resting against was a large flight of stairs, and then a wall and a door leading into the kitchen. To the left of the room, there was a fairly large sized study room with a two desks. 

As the trio walked into the kitchen, they were surprised to find no one in there.

"You sure they're here?" Kairi questioned.

Sora shrugged, "They could be somewhere else." he said, taking a quick glance near the bathroom and the back door. "C'mon, we'll try downstairs."

He walked out of the kitchen with Riku and Kairi both following close behind. The tension had eased up slightly for both of them. Being around more people definately helped.

The headed into the study and Sora opened a door near the desk that led to a staircase.

At first they couldn't see a thing as they felt along the wood panelled walls to make sure they didn't fall down any steps.

As they neared the bottom, the steps became clearer. They reached a rather large room that Riku vowed he could spend the rest of his days in. Two couches and a coffee table were situated in the middle and the entire room was brightened only by a dim yellowish lamp. Another television sat infront of the couches and on it's stand there were a bunch of movies and video games that Riku recognized as being Sora's. The wooden walls were plastered with a fair amount of posters and shelves. Behind the couches next to a closed door was a large stereo and a fridge. Sora walked down the last step and knocked on the door. After receiving no answer he opened it slowly. He peered inside momentarily and then retreated. "Nope."

Kairi and Riku followed him down the stairs and watched as Sora waltzed across the room and knocked on another door, following the same routine before peering into another bathroom.

"Well they're not down here."

"Are there any other rooms down here?" Riku asked.

"Nope, just Cloud and Leon's. You have to stay upstairs."

"Aww..."

* * *

The third floor was huge too. The staircase that led to it had a hallway spanning all the way around in one large square. Cid's room was on the end, Yuffie and Tifa shared a double bedroom with their own bathroom and there were three other rooms on the opposite end of the hall. Sora opened one of the doors. 

"The rooms are kind of small but I'm surprised we can all live here." he pointed out.

"Don't even worry about it." Kairi said. "Being able to stay here is awesome all on it's own."

"We just have to make sure we knock." Sora said, pointing to a door that was inside his room.

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, confused.

Sora walked over and opened the door, which led to the second room, and then another door which led to the third room.

"They're kind of all connected."

Riku raised an eybrow, this could have it's benefits... and it's downfalls.

"Which one is mine?" he asked.

The far one, on the right. Mine is on the left.

"So I suppose I get the middle then." Kairi finished.

"Err... yeah."

A heavy silence filled the room as the three stood motionless. The sound of laughter could be heard faintly and Sora perked his head up. They were each thankful that something had distracted them.

"That's coming from the attic." he said.

"The attic?"

"Yeah, Aeris' room is up there."

* * *

"Helloooo?" Sora called up the stairs. 

"Hello? Sora is that you?"

"Yeah it's me!" he said as they all jogged up the stairs.

When Kairi heard the word attic, she immediately thought of dark, damp and spiderwebs. But it was the complete opposite. The room was rather large, and painted a faint pink with a matching carpet of a slightly darker shade. The roof was slanted and on the far end of the room, opposite of the stairs were two glass doors that led outside onto a small balcony that overlooked all of Radiant Garden, which had become quite an attractive and bustling town since she'd last been here. A vanity and the closet sat on the right side of the room and a large double bed on the left where Aeris and Tifa were sitting comfortably.

"Sora, hey, what's going - oh! Riku, Kairi! I thought I heard Sora say something about you staying for a while! How's it going?" Aeris asked when they came into view.

"Not bad," Kairi commented, "The island was getting a little boring without Sora there anyway."

"Hey I wouldn't complain, it's been kinda boring around here too." Tifa said, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all up for the town restoration and whatnot, but the guys have been spending half their time on the castle. The town is doing fine on it's own with their part. I just want to rest and relax for awhile." she sighed.

"Exactly." Aeris pointed out, "Which is precisely why we hid up here for the time being."

"Well I suggested, and am still standing by a party. Just throwing it out there." Riku said.

Tifa and Aeris laughed at him, "Oh we'd be all up for that, but good luck convincing Cloud and Leon to have fun for a night."

"Why don't you two do the convincing? Besides," he grinned, "We have an excuse."

Sora looked to him dumbfoundedly, "We do?"

"Yup."

"Ummm..."

"It'll be Kairi's birthday."

Sora smacked his forehead. How could he have forgotten? "Oh that's right."

"Really?" Aeris asked, looking to her.

"Umm... yeah, but you guys don't have to-"

"Well we don't even have to convince anyone!" Tifa said excitedly. "Aeris, Yuffie and I are throwing you a party no matter what."

Riku smiled. He knew he'd at least be able to have some fun.

"Sounds awesome." Sora said, "Do you wanna head out to the castle for now though?"

"Sure thing." Riku agreed.

Kairi hestated, she really wanted to stay and catch up with the girls instead.

"The castle is boring." Aeris waved her hand, "Stay here with us, Kairi." she said, noticing her unsureness.

"Kairi if you wanna stay it's no problem." Riku assured her.

"Yeah, we'll just see you at supper." Sora added.

"Really? Thanks guys."

"No problem." Sora smiled at her as they turned to leave.

"I'll-...We'll see you in a bit." Riku said before heading down the stairs.

* * *

Riku stared in awe as they headed to the castle. The whole area beyond the town was almost completely fixed. No rubble or boulders or scrap metal anywhere. It was a peaceful and long walk though. There were no heartless anymore so it was actually somewhat boring. 

"You have to take this long walk everytime you come up here?" Riku asked with a chuckle, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"Well I usually take one of Scrooge's skateboards, but I figured you wouldn't want to."

"Well you thought right."

Sora smiled, "I thought so. So... what's new with you Riku?"

Riku looked up, trying to think of something to say, but the guilt from earlier had found its way back into his thoughts.

"Nothing much I suppose. Just hanging out like usual."

"I've been bummed without you guys here."

"... Same."

"I'm glad you decided to come."

Riku kicked a small rock out in front of him, "Come on now, why wouldn't we have come?"

Sora shrugged, "I dunno, maybe you were having fun."

He thought back to last night and smirked, "Well, I suppose it had potential to turn fun. But, for the most part it was just like it used to be. I do enjoy the island. It was good to be home for a while. It wasn't all of us home though, so it wasn't the same."

His statement cause Sora to beam with happiness. "Thanks Riku."

* * *

Well, the castle had been much less boring than the girls made it out to be. Sora and Riku had helped Leon and Cloud explore some of the hidden passage ways that they had yet to enter. Sora even needed to use his keyblade once to open a door. They ended up finding some results on the testing that Ansem hadn't known about. 

Currently they were all sitting in the living room enjoying supper. There wasn't enough room for even half of them at the kitchen table. Cloud, Tifa and Aeris were on one of the couches, Cid had claimed the chair. On the other two couches sat Yuffie and Leon, and Kairi, who was situated in between Sora and Riku.

When Kairi finished, she stood up and brought her plate into the kitchen and placed it in the sink. When she returned, she sat back down on the couch considerably closer to Riku. Enough for him to notice. Sora kept his hungry eyes on his plate and paid no attention to it.

She did however receive quite the stare from Cloud, of all people, when Riku placed a hand on her knee casually in order to hoist himself up off the couch to return his plate.

Kairi quickly averted her gaze. She had never been one to have an actual conversation with Cloud. He was too intimidating. From what she gathered, he only spoke when needed, kept to himself, focused on what needed to be done and just looked really hot. Not the kind of person she could confidently walk up to and start chatting away with.

When Riku returned, Kairi looked back and watched Cloud shift his gaze elsewhere before Tifa spoke up.

"It's Kairi's birthday next week." she said casually.

"Yeah," Aeris added in, "So we're gonna have a little birthday party for her."

Cloud and Leon both looked unfazed while Cid continued to focus on his food.

"It'll be a little boring with just us girls, so you guys should come... If you want."

"Sure." Leon spoke up when Yuffie nudged him, "I'll stay in for a day."

"Yeah, why not?" Cloud shrugged.

Aeris gave Kairi a small wink and she smiled back at her. She had to remember to personally thank them later. After the party date for tomorrow night was settled, everyone went back to their eating and personal conversations.

Sora leaned over and glanced in Kairi's  
direction, "Kairi what do you want for your birthday?"

She shook her head, "That's okay, Sora, I don't need you to get me anything."

"Come on, it's your birthday. I want to." he complained.

"Yeah Kairi, let us spoil you for one day. I'm sure you won't mind." Riku smuggly added in.

"Kairi, I've made so much money from the Colessium Tournaments I don't even know what to do with it. I'll buy you whatever you want." Sora offered with a laugh.

"Well Sora, if you buy me whatever I want, what will there be left for Riku to give me?" she asked with a hint, locking her eyes with his.

He understood. To whether she was just playing around with him or not was the real question. "I'm sure I could give something to you that you would thoroughly enjoy. I'll give you whatever you ask for."

Sora raised a confused eyebrow at his friend who broke his eye contact with Kairi long enough to notice that Sora was staring at him a little oddly.

Kairi noticed this and cleared her throat before trying to relax back into the couch.

"Well," Riku said, breaking the silence, "I think I'm gonna have a shower and get ready for bed. I'm kinda tired "

"Okay, Night Riku." Kairi said as he got up off the couch.

"...Night." Sora added in.

"Night guys."

"That was a little strange." Sora mumbled to Kairi.

She decided playing stupid for now was a good thing to do. She shrugged, "What was?"

Well if she didn't notice anything, maybe he was just imagining things, right? "Oh," Sora leaned back into the couch, "Nothing... I'm actually getting tired too. I think I'll go to bed too."

"Well, then I might as well too, right?" Kairi agreed, flashing him a small smile. "I know how lazy you get without sleep anyways. Let's go."

The two stood up and wished everyone goodnight before having a race up the stairs. Kairi pushed Sora playfully into the banister. He lost.

"Not fair!" he called up the steps.

Kairi poked her tongue out at him from the railing on the second floor and took off into her room.

Sora wasted no time in picking himself up and bounding up the rest of the stairs, following closely behind her as she slid into her room and locked the door.

Sora was about the bang on it and tell her to let him in but he had a better idea. He opened up the door to his own room and slowly and quietly headed to the door that linked their tooms together. He pressed his ear against it before turning the knob slowly. When Sora heard the door click open he grinned. She must have forgotten to lock it.

He barged into the room, catching Kairi by surprise and tackled her at the waist, throwing her down to the bed.

"Ha! Victorious!" He boasted.

Kairi let out a small but awkward laugh, "Yeah... um..."

"What? Did I hurt you?"

She shifted uncomfortably, "No, but, um... You're kind of on top of me."

Sora looked down and blushed before pulling himself off of her. "Oh, heh, sorry. Didn't realize." He half lied. He had noticed their position, and the fact of the matter was that he liked Kairi. He wanted her to know that... If she didn't already. She had reacted quite negatively to his playful actions, even if they were just friendly ones. Strange.

"Well," she said, rubbing one of her arms, "I think I'm gonna head to bed now."

Sora nodded and gave her a small wave before he headed out of the room.

Once he had shut the door, Kairi collapsed on her bed and sighed heavily. This was going to be harder than she thought. Poor Sora. She didn't want to hurt him. They were best friends.

A few moments later she summoned the strength to lift herself up off the cozy bed and searched around in her bag for some pajamas. After changing into them, Kairi headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She could still hear everyone else chatting downstairs, but Riku and Sora's rooms remained silent save for the sound of running water. She walked over to her and Sora's door and gave it a knock before cautiously opening it.

He looked up at her from his bed. He wasn't sleeping and the lamp was still on.

"Hey Kairi." he greeted.

"Just came in to say goodnight again. This time I'm really going to sleep now."

He laughed, "Alright, see you in the morning."

"Night."

After she closed the door, Sora heard her footsteps making their way over to Riku's door and he heard her knock. A second later the door opened and their muffled voices could be heard. Not that he cared. He didn't need to listen to what they were talking about. But he couldn't help but notice how long they actually talked for.

When Kairi walked into Riku's room, he was just coming out of the bathroom. Clad in only a towel, he tossed his dirty clothes on a nearby chair.

"What was that all about?" he said with a laugh.

"What was what?"

"Before I got in the shower I heard you and Sora head into your room."

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Oh, we were having a race and he threw me on the bed, and decided to land on top of me." she informed him, moving to sit on the edge of his bed.

"Ah yes, I heard that." Riku said with amusement, grabbing a plain muscle shirt and throwing it over his head. "Although you should be a bit more quiet." he warned.

Kairi narrowed her eyes, and grumbled inwardly when she noticed he'd covered up. "What do you mean?"

"When you went into his room to say goodnight. I stopped the shower and I could hear." he finished, grabbing some baggy pajama pants and sliding them on before removing his towel.

"So what? I'm allowed to say goodnight ot him Riku."

At her comment, Riku laughed out loud and ruffled her hair. "I didn't mean that. I meant if you're gonna talk about him, do it quietly so he can't hear you from his room."

"... Oh." She blushed. "Sorry."

"That's alright." he said, sitting down beside her and pulling her on his lap. "It just means we'll have to be quiet." he whispered into her ear.

Her head reflexively moved into his touch, "And what do you mean by that?"

"Mmm, nothing referring to tonight." she felt him kiss his way down her neck before resting his chin on her shoulder, "Because I wasn't lying. I am tired."

Kairi grumbled. "Guess I can't stay in here either huh?"

"Definately maybe another time."

"Alright, then I'm heading to bed." she said, dipping her head down to kiss him.

"Night."

"Night."

Kairi hopped off his lap and left into her own bedroom. Part of her really never wanted to have to tell Sora anything, but she didn't want to commit to sneaking around and keeping secrets from her best friend. And she definately didn't want to stop seeing Riku.

This was going to be a long summer.

* * *

Wow, once again - sooooo sorry for not updating in so long but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway even if it wasn't too excting. 


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